Wyman swears off unfunded mandates in next administration

Published 10:23 pm, Sunday, November 21, 2010

Dan Malloy, who won the Connecticut governor's race, speaks to the media with running mate Nancy Wyman at his side at the Capitol in Hartford, Conn., Monday, Nov. 8, 2010. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

Dan Malloy, who won the Connecticut governor's race, speaks to the media with running mate Nancy Wyman at his side at the Capitol in Hartford, Conn., Monday, Nov. 8, 2010. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

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Wyman swears off unfunded mandates in next administration

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Democratic Lt. Gov.-elect Nancy Wyman scored some major brownie points with members of the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities this week, telling a group of mayors and first selectmen that the new administration of running mate Dannel Malloy opposes shifting additional costs onto cities and towns.

"What I said was that Gov.-elect Malloy has said that under these financial conditions he does not see himself in the next year signing any new unfunded mandates on cities or towns," Wyman said in interview.

Connecticut's first female comptroller, Wyman met with about 65 CCM members in North Haven Tuesday to discuss the economic climate in the state and policy making. The New Haven-based lobbying organization represents 144 cities and towns.

"Somebody asked about unfunded mandates and how difficult it is for local governments, particularly in these tough economic times, to deal with," said James Finley Jr., CCM's executive director and chief executive. "She was confident that Dan wouldn't sign one of these unfunded mandates. She got some applause on that."

An unfunded mandate is a legal obligation passed down from federal or state governments to municipalities, which are expected to perform certain functions with little or no reimbursement.

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Malloy, the former mayor of Stamford and past president of CCM, established himself as a vocal critic of inadequately funded federal mandates such as the No Child Left Behind Act.

"Most dollars spent on education, let's be honest, come from state and local government," Malloy said in 2006 when he was mayor. "Relatively little comes from federal government."

Peter Tesei, the first selectman of Greenwich and a Republican, said Wyman's comments were refreshing.

"So I think that's an important statement coming from the No. 2 official in this administration," Tesei told his colleagues Thursday during a Board of Selectmen meeting. "It's been a long-standing issue."

Among the unfunded mandates that Finley said has cities and towns most concerned is a prevailing-wage requirement and project-cost thresholds.

The first requires municipalities to pay what is known as the prevailing wage, which is set by the state Department of Labor to mirror union pay rates, on public works projects above a certain dollar amount, according to Finley.

"So the mayors and first selectmen are asking in these particularly tough times if you can make public works dollars go further by not invoking the prevailing-wage mandate," Finley said. "She said that she did not think that the Malloy/Wyman administration would support eliminating the mandate, but would look at adjustments."

Wyman was noncommittal on the issue of prevailing wages, however.

"I'm sure the governor-elect will look at things, but I don't remember Dan making any comments on prevailing wage," Wyman said.

"It's been difficult to get traction in both the Democrat and Republican caucuses on the issue because the building trade unions are very strong," Finley said.

CCM is also lobbying the incoming administration to reconsider project-cost thresholds, which Finley said require prevailing wages to be paid on rehab or renovation projects over $100,000 and new construction over $400,000.

"I think they're willing to look at the project-cost thresholds to see if they should be raised to take into account the cost-of-living increases that were put in place since they were created," Finley said.

Wyman opened the door to the prospect of an adjustment.

"I basically said we would be looking at everything," Wyman said.

The most burdensome mandates come in the area of education and special education, according to Finley, who said that cities and towns are shouldering more and more costs.

"There really is no way to avoid it," Finley said. "The state has capped its special ed reimbursements over the last several years so that municipalities don't get full reimbursement for some of those extraordinary costs."

Wyman acknowledged that some existing mandates that provide a safety net for those in need or requiring mental health treatment will be protected.

"Those are not on the table," Wyman said.

Malloy and Wyman, who will be sworn in Jan. 5, are inheriting an estimated $3.4 billion budget deficit.

"We have to look at everything as bad as this economy is right now and the way our budget looks right now," Wyman said. "It's going to be a lot of work. It's the toughest year, I think, any governor has ever faced coming into office."

Staff writer Neil Vigdor can be reached at neil.vigdor@scni.com or at 203-625-4436.